First Draft: How I Used ChatGPT to Supercharge My Job Search

This is the first draft written by ChatGPT. To return to the final article, go here.

Over the past few months, I’ve been deep in career-reflection mode—updating my resume, writing cover letters, polishing my portfolio, and even refreshing some of my UX research practices. It’s the kind of work that requires both introspection and strategy… and honestly, it can feel overwhelming.

So, I brought in a little help: ChatGPT.

This isn’t a story about automating everything or letting AI take over the creative process. It’s about using a tool as a collaborator—someone (okay, something) to bounce ideas off of, help reframe my experience, and speed up the parts that often get stuck in drafts and overthinking.

Here’s how I used ChatGPT to level up different parts of my job search—and how it's become a quiet partner in my design work, too.

Collaborative Cover Letters (That Don’t Feel Like Templates)

Cover letters have always been a struggle for me—not because I don’t know what to say, but because I want each one to feel personal and relevant without starting from scratch every time.

With ChatGPT, I started feeding in job descriptions alongside some context about me: the role I’m applying for, the type of company, and a few key things I wanted to highlight. It would give me a strong first draft—sometimes even a structure I hadn’t thought of—that I could then rewrite in my own voice.

What helped most was asking it to pull out keywords from the job description and match them to projects I’d actually worked on. That way, the letter was always rooted in truth, but sharper than if I’d tried to do it all from memory.

Best part? I no longer dread writing them. It’s like having a thoughtful editor by my side who understands the vibe I’m going for.

Rethinking My Resume With Strategy in Mind

When I first asked ChatGPT to help with my resume, I expected some formatting tips or suggestions for stronger verbs. What I didn’t expect was how it helped me reframe my experience—especially for more senior roles.

By describing projects I’d led or cross-functional work I’d done, I was able to get clearer on impact. ChatGPT helped translate “I collaborated with engineers” into something like “led design strategy across disciplines to deliver scalable solutions.” Small shift, big difference.

It also helped me trim down old sections that were too task-focused, and highlight things like mentorship, systems thinking, and influence—stuff that matters more at the senior level but is easy to undersell when you’re in the weeds.

Polishing My Portfolio Stories

Writing portfolio case studies can feel like telling the same story over and over, just with different visuals. I used ChatGPT to help turn my messy notes and timelines into tighter, more engaging narratives.

I’d start by describing a project out loud—what I worked on, why it mattered, what I learned. Then I’d feed that into ChatGPT and ask it to help me structure it like a story, with clear stakes, decisions, and outcomes.

I still rewrote and edited everything myself, but the AI was like a storytelling coach. It helped me move from “this is what I did” to “here’s why this mattered, and how it shaped my thinking.”

That shift made my portfolio feel a lot more me, even as it got more polished.

Leveling Up Research Frameworks

This one was a pleasant surprise: I started using ChatGPT to help design better research frameworks. I’d describe the goal of a study or the kind of data I wanted to collect, and it would help me draft survey questions, interview guides, or even synthesis templates.

Sometimes I’d paste in raw notes or findings and ask it to help me group insights or identify themes. Obviously, I’d still do my own analysis—but it gave me a head start, especially when I felt too close to the work to see the patterns clearly.

It’s also helped me experiment with different frameworks—JTBD, assumption mapping, research matrices—that I hadn’t used in a while. Having a second brain that’s fluent in UX methods? Pretty nice.

Human + Machine = Better Work

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that AI isn’t here to replace good thinking—it’s here to make space for more of it. ChatGPT helped me get unstuck, see my experience from new angles, and articulate my value with more clarity.

I still make every decision, write every final word, and tell every story myself. But I do it with a little more confidence—and a lot less blank-page anxiety.

If you’re in the middle of a job search or just want to get more intentional about your work, I can’t recommend it enough: treat AI like a creative collaborator, not a shortcut. You’ll be surprised what comes out of it.